Saint-Gobain, a worldwide building materials company founded in 1665 by French King Louis XIV, plans to locate its state-of-the-art North American corporate headquarters to 20 Moores Road in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

The firm’s 320,000 square foot campus will be transformed into a LEED-certified facility for Saint-Gobain and its North American construction materials subsidiary, CertainTeed Corporation, both of which are also currently headquartered in Valley Forge.

Saint-Gobain officials said the relocation will position the global building materials manufacturer for greater growth and expansion in North America. Construction is expected to begin this month and be completed by fall 2015. Saint-Gobain selected a suburban campus along the Philadelphia corridor that could provide integrated, mixed-use space with significant room for expansion. At the same time, the new Malvern campus remains accessible to the company’s expert employee base, many of whom reside in Chester and Montgomery Counties.

Company officials said its new campus will also allow its local research team, currently based in Montgomery County, to be integrated with the company’s operations team on one site. In total, the relocation will bring approximately 120 additional employees to Chester County and raise the company’s total employee count at the new corporate headquarters to more than 800. Saint-Gobain expects to accommodate future job growth and have the flexibility to relocate additional business units from its diverse portfolio to the integrated site in Malvern.

“This headquarters marks a step change in Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed’s ability to serve our North American markets, and it will be a shining example of a 21st century manufacturing business,” said John Crowe, President/CEO of Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Corporations. “With the building industry continuing to rebound, we’ve seized the opportunity to create a focal point for innovative design and development on the Eastern Seaboard, a place where our businesses and employees can continue to grow in a fully integrated, modern space that promotes collaboration across our business units, while offering significant room for future expansion.”

“At Saint-Gobain, collaboration is at the core of everything we have done and will do,” said Crowe. “As we approach the company’s 350th anniversary, we will celebrate and strengthen our collaborative culture with a new headquarters that promotes greater employee interaction, demonstrates the power of our innovations and can serve as a home to the next generation of innovators.”

“This is a unique opportunity to work with one of the world’s premier construction materials leaders to create a transformative workplace experience,” said Eli Kahn, President of E. Kahn Development Corporation, the firm redesigning of the 65-acre campus with J. Loew Associates in collaboration with AEGON Realty Advisors. “The depth of building science expertise and range of sustainable materials Saint-Gobain brings to this project will make it an icon among sustainable workplaces worldwide.”